New Delhi: Delhi’s wobbling AAP government was hit by a huge scandal as sacked Delhi minister Kapil Mishra claimed on Sunday that he had witnessed chief minister Arvind Kejriwal take Rs 2 crores in cash from health minister Satyendar Jain at his residence, a charge that was termed “unsubstantiated” and “not even worth responding to” by deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia.
Mr Mishra’s allegations come at a time when the ruling Aam Aadmi Party is grappling with massive internal conflicts. In a tell-all press briefing at Rajghat a day after he was sacked, the AAP leader said he had given a statement to lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal on various irregularities that he had seen during his two-year tenure in Mr Kejriwal’s Cabinet.
Mr Mishra sacking came days after he rallied support for Kumar Vishwas, a senior AAP leader who had several run-ins with the party leadership since the end of April. Before his press briefing, the shunted minister tweeted he has “witnessed HIM taking illegal cash”. According to Mr Mishra, the cash had exchanged hands on Friday.
Both the BJP and the Congress responded to Mr Mishra’s claim and demanded that Mr Kejriwal step down as Delhi chief minister. A BJP delegation led by its Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari met Mr Baijal on Sunday evening and sought an inquiry into the matter. Mr Tiwari told reporters he had got assurances from the L-G.
“I saw with my own eyes Satyendar Jain giving Rs 2 crores in cash to Arvind Kejriwal at his residence. When I asked Kejriwal, he said such things happen in politics, and it will be revealed later,” said Mr Mishra, who was accompanied by his wife at the Rajghat briefing. He also alleged Mr Jain, Delhi’s health and PWD minister, had told him he had settled land deals worth Rs 50 crores for a relative of Mr Kejriwal.
Deputy CM Manish Sisodia told reporters: “His allegations do not merit a response. He has been sacked due to poor performance The allegations are so absurd and there are no facts.” But the former water minister alleged a big conspiracy and said he was removed after he put pressure on party leaders over “corruption” issues that were doing the rounds for quite some time. He wondered why Mr Kejriwal and his deputy were trying to “fool” people by talking about the accomplishments of the AAP government in improving the city water supply.
He alleged that his sacking was “probably” linked to his “massive expose” on the tanker which he was due to make on Sunday. The Rs 400-crore deal is alleged to have taken place during the tenure of former chief minister Sheila Dikshit. He claimed Mr Kejriwal was suppressing a report on the alleged scam to shield people in the AAP. In August 2015, Mr Mishra, who headed a fact-finding committee to probe irregularities, is said to have given a report that could spell trouble for not just those in Ms Dikshit’s government, but also for some people in the AAP government.
Signalling that Mr Mishra was fighting a lone battle, senior AAP leader Kumar Vishwas backed Mr Kejriwal on Sunday, saying that it was unimaginable to think that he would accept bribes. Mr Vishwas, recently accused by AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan of hobnobbing with the BJP and RSS, had put out a cryptic tweet on Saturday. “I want to assure the country and party volunteers that we will continue to raise our voice against corruption, within and without, irrespective of what the outcome is,” he had tweeted in Hindi. With the AAP’s political affairs committee likely to decide his fate soon, the road ahead is not going to be easy for Mr Mishra.
“I saw some of it with my own eyes but I believed in Kejriwal and felt no one can corrupt him. The cases of money-laundering, black money and appointment of the daughter of a minister (Mr Jain), the luxury bus scheme, CNG fitness test scam... all these were in his knowledge and I always believed he will take action,” the sacked Delhi minister told reporters. “Just wait and watch, Satyendra Jain will be behind bars within a few days,” he said.
Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, who fought a bitter poll battle with the Delhi CM in the recent Punjab elections, said his counterpart had no moral right to continue in office as his “corrupt face” has been “totally exposed”. Veteran social activist Anna Hazare said he was “saddened” by the allegations against Mr Kejriwal. “Kejriwal became CM due to the fight against corruption in Delhi,” he told PTI. Mr Mishra was one of the AAP’s founding members and was a prominent figure in the anti-graft campaign led by Anna Hazare earlier.
Mr Mishra said he will go to the anti-corruption branch (ACB) office on Monday morning. He added he had sought time to apprise the ACB on the alleged tanker scam. He claimed his position on the scam hadn’t gone down well with Mr Kejriwal, whom he had met briefly on Saturday.
